Fifty years of the unbreakable Toyota HiLux

We test the HiLux Rugged X to see if it lives up to the legend

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Clambering out of a dry creek bed, all four wheels spinning, it strikes me that this is about as removed from the intended purpose of the original Toyota Hilux as any of its early engineers could have imagined.

The chamfered corners of the Hilux Rugged X’s steel bumper are kissing the red earth bank, dust billowing from the chunky all-terrain tyres as they scrabble to ascend, the electronic traction control furiously firing electronic pulses to the ECU to calculate which wheel is most likely to lead to forward motion.

This year the Hilux celebrates its 50th anniversary. If it were a wedding anniversary it would be lavished in gold.

Instead, close to the dusty, dry heart of Australia it’s getting a decent dose of red dust, rocks and the occasional splash of drying mud.

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Changing fortunes

When the first generation Hilux arrived in 1968 the Hilux had modest aspirations of bolstering the fledgling Toyota range, capitalising on the image of LandCruisers helping build the Snowy Mountains Scheme that until is still the single biggest engineering feat ever undertaken in this Great Southern Land.

Originally created by truck maker Hino, the Hilux quickly assumed its Toyota moniker, in time stepping in for a largely unloved Toyota ute called the Stout, one that struggled to make inroads on the Holdens that dominated the ’60s scene.

Like the Stout, it was tough and affordable, but not particularly aspirational. Commercial vehicles were once just that: designed to do a job on a budget.

Just a few hundred Hiluxes were sold in early years, the newcomer comprehensively upstaged by locally-made utes from Ford and Holden.

Yet the foundations had been set. From the outset, Toyota positioned the Hilux as tough and capable, two things that haven’t changed in the must-have list of ute buyers over half a century.

Farmers were among the first to give the Toyota newcomer a shot, with tradies not far behind, lured by the promise of keeping more money in their pocket with this commercial vehicle upstart. That Toyota was already building its reputation for reliability didn’t hurt.

It’s a far cry from the Hilux we’re driving here, its $63,990 price tag eclipsing that of a Mercedes-Benz C-Class or leather-clad Camry propelled by a computer-controlled mix of electrons and petrol.

Whereas once the most luxurious thing you got in a Hilux was a spare tyre and “flow-through ventilation”, these days there’s satellite-navigation, a touchscreen, leather trim and electric seats.

The sorts of things that have opened the ute market up to a new breed of buyers, from off-road adventurers and dads keen to muscle up their image to young blokes looking for a tough ride, even grey nomads touring the country.

Utes now command one in six new vehicle sales, their breadth of ability key to their appeal. They’re expected to carry, tow, traverse and pamper while rebounding unscathed from any rough-and-ready adventure along the way.

Little wonder they’re now prolific from Bondi to Broome.

Unbreakable?

Consistency has long been key to the Toyota sales pitch, one typically backed up by clever, clean marketing.

For Toyota, that message revolved around “unbreakable”, the notion that no matter what you did to your Hilux it would keep coming back for more.

Of course, there was artistic licence in the message, as Hiluxes have ultimately been as fallible as many others.

But it worked, backed up by unexpected support from the Poms. Not even Toyota could match the marketing might dished out by Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May when a Hilux appeared on the hugely popular Top Gear.

In trying to destroy an already battered and well thrashed Hilux they dropped it off an exploding 23-storey building.

Dragging it from the rubble and having the guys describe it as “the most indestructible car in the world” provided priceless independent backup of the message.

Changing times

Beneath the bonnet, too, the 2018 Hilux is a very different beast to those originals, electronics playing an increasingly bigger role.

Local tuning of the traction control system has proved a winner during our outback adventure, the calibration superb for finding traction where you wouldn’t expect much.

Plus, it drives all four wheels (early Hiluxes drove only the rears).

It wasn’t until 1979 that Toyota decided some additional ground clearance and a 4WD transfer case would make things that little more capable.

At the time it was laughed at, rivals mocking its gangly, high-riding stance.

History shows the move was genius, as most modern utes equipped with the ability to go far further than even the imagination of their often ambitious – and diverse – owners. Tough, too.

The taut suspension of our Rugged X can be testing on pattered B-roads, but it comes into its own through washouts and unexpected dips. Bounding through dry creek beds and along vast outback roads our Hilux was coping with everything dished out to it.

At least it was, until a host of warning lights lit up the dash, a digital readout instructing us to visit our dealer.

The road we’re on barely registers on a map and a quick calculation puts the nearest dealer something like 500km – and many washouts - away.

The unscheduled stop in the middle of nowhere was from an unlikely source, Hiluxes known for their ability to soldier on.

Our middle of nowhere is a dusty road somewhere near the border of South Australia and the Northern Territory.

It’s not until weeks later we learn what tripped the Hilux up: dust.

It turns out the air intake can leak some fine dust particles, in turn hitting the mass airflow sensor, then triggering the limp-home mode we experienced.

The computer can be temporarily reset by disconnecting the battery; a longer term solution is currently being worked on by Toyota engineers.

For now, there is no recall, but given the tough-as-guts marketing, it would seem prudent to at least rectify the hundreds of thousands of cars (including Prados and Fortuners) affected by the issue.

Broad thinking

Thousands of kilometres in to our off-road adventure is a reminder of the spread of the Hilux.

Through remote country towns battling the dryness of drought we see dozens of basic models, the circa-$20K price tag a key part of the appeal.

Then there are grey nomads and adventurers leaning on their SR5s for trans-continental transport.

The plethora of SR5 models – formerly the pinnacle of the Hilux range – reaffirms the tectonic shift in the ute market.

Buyers are increasingly eager to pay more for cars that promise more. Utes need to be tough and capable, but it seems people also want more luxury and more connectivity.

Hence the arrival of the Rugged, Rugged X and Rogue.

Work time

Not that everyone is keen on the LED light bars and off-road kit that comes as part of our Rugged X.

One large station we pass through isn’t interested in Hiluxes, instead preferring its big brother, the 70-Series LandCruiser.

With genes dating back almost four decades it hasn’t succumbed to the city slicker pressure of regular utes, instead maintaining its utilitarian look and minimalist 1980s interior.

It also has a V8, whereas the Hilux makes do with half the cylinders.

The latest 2.8-litre engine is arguably the least impressive part of the Hilux package. There’s just 130kW – less than most rivals – and the 450Nm of torque is good without being outstanding.

Throw in the extra couple of hundred kilos of the Rugged X’s additional gear and acceleration is modest. Fuel use, too, is nothing special, meaning you’ll be refuelling every 500-600km in conditions like this.

Not that the Hilux has gone soft.

This eighth generation model had its development delayed while it was beefed up, the chief engineer noting how Aussies use their utes, in turn deciding thicker box sections were in order.

While it’s a global car, Australia is a major focus for the Hilux. In 2016 it became the top selling car in the country, the first time a commercial vehicle has outsold the sedans and hatches that dominated the scene since the arrival of the first Holden back in 1948.

As we hit the cruise control for the final fling into Adelaide, white lines flicking past the tyres there’s time to reflect on the appeal of the Hilux.

It’s not necessarily the best ute on the market – others outclass it on performance and comfort - but it’s a great all-rounder and one that’s been doing the rounds for 50 years.

That Hiluxes have been pounding the rocks, red earth and sand of Australia for half a century counts for plenty.

That reputation and longevity ensures Hiluxes continue to be popular with one of the broadest buyer groups of any new cars, even if competitors are catching.

Within months, too, the Hilux will notch up an impressive record – the one millionth Australian owner set to take the keys of a car that’s helped shape a nation.

Surely the perfect excuse to ditch the gold and head for more red dirt.

Toyota's Domination

The Hilux has dominated the ute market for decades, comprehensively outselling its rivals.

Before the end of 2018 Toyota will sell the one-millionth Hilux in Australia – almost half of them over the past decade - clocking up an impressive milestone.

But that popularity has popped a giant target on the Hilux’s steel tray, something rivals are intent on nailing.

In the past it’s been the Nissan Navara hunting down the Toyota, but more recently Ford’s Ranger has done the sales damage.

These days Ford occasionally sells more four-wheel drive versions of its ute than Toyota, although Toyota dominates at the bottom end of the market.

But the gap is narrowing, Toyota ever eager to maintain its top billing.

The Original HiLux

The first Hilux traces its roots back to truck manufacturer Hino, which in the 1960s produced a small truck called the Briska.

In 1966 Toyota bought Hino, in turn acquiring the Briska, which formed the basis for the first Hilux in 1968.

Hino instead focused on larger trucks, leaving Toyota to market the Hilux, eventually seeing the end of its own ute, the Stout.

As for the Hilux name, it’s a combination of “high” and “luxury”.

From the outset the Hilux has been about toughness, marketing strength and toughness heavily.

Early ads for the original car boasted of its 2240-pound (1016kg) load capacity and 74-brake horsepower (55kW) 1.5-litre engine.

Its truck-like construction was also heralded as a plus against the Fords and Holdens of the day, which instead were based on the construction of a passenger car.

“Try that in a fancy car-type ute and see what happens,” screamed an early Hilux ad, taking a subtle dig at the locally-made big timers.

The X-Class with 0% comparison rate.^

A former Editor of Drive, Toby remains one of our senior road test and feature contributors. With a nose for news and experience in motor racing, Tobes is one of the countries most authoritative motoring experts.

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2 COMMENTS

Jamie Tan — 08 Oct 2018 20:10

Unbreakable no longer it seems - from the DPF issues, injector failures, and now succumbing to dust?